


Tiny Little Fractures

by newspringrain (forever_bright)



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drug Use, Future Fic, M/M, New York, No Blaine Bashing, References to Addiction, Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-15
Updated: 2013-08-15
Packaged: 2017-12-23 14:01:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/927332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forever_bright/pseuds/newspringrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After graduation, Kurt moves to New York to pursue his NYADA dream. He runs into Sebastian in the city and quickly discovers that the ex-Warbler has left behind the entitled life of Dalton, trading it for a dangerous web of shady friends and bad choices. Sebastian doesn’t know how to ask for help and Kurt doesn’t know how to walk away. (Previously completed, currently being rewritten)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tiny Little Fractures

**Author's Note:**

> This is completed on ff.net, but it was written quickly and casually. I've been wanting to fix up a few things and repolish it, so I'll be doing that here.
> 
> There will also be a sequel once I finish this rewrite.

Kurt had been in New York for three months when he ran into Sebastian at the drugs store. Usually Kurt wouldn’t have been lingering around an excessively average drug store in the middle of the day, but it was on his route back from classes and he needed a fresh tub vitamins.  He browsed the shelves in a leisurely fashion, hands tucked in the pockets of his vintage teal coat, his eyes skimming over all the small, eccentric items that simply didn’t exist back in Ohio. 

New York hadn’t stopped being fascinating and terrifying, even after three months. Everywhere – from designer clothes stores to his local bank – was capable of producing a little thrill in Kurt, a fresh burst of enthusiasm and silent awe. He was slowly falling in love with the city, just like he always knew he would.

Kurt’s roommate, Andrew, was from Minnesota and he shared Kurt’s experience. The rush of freedom and possibility that New York offered fuelled both of them. They had spent many nights sitting in their dorm room, trading stories and little New York moments - silly, insignificant anecdotes that Kurt couldn’t share with Blaine back in Lima.

Therefore, even though the drugstore wasn’t particularly glamorous, Kurt was looking with fascination through the seemingly mundane products that lined the walls - band-aids with different Disney characters on them, hand-cream that smelled like coriander and endless different flavours of condoms. 

Kurt was so engaged in satisfying his appetite for New York’s mundane objects that he didn’t see Sebastian at first, he only heard his jarringly familiar voice at the counter. Automatically, Kurt turned and looked, convinced he must be mistaken.

"Do you have, like, five more of these?"

Sebastian was holding up a packet of extra-strength painkillers, his voice edgy and frustrated. Kurt, curiously peering out from behind a display of hair dye, was completely astonished to visually confirm that Sebastian Smythe was in the shop with him, in New York, barely three blocks from Kurt’s dorm. Sebastian… Dalton student and scheming jerk, who now wearing jeans and hoodie and poor posture. Kurt ducked back out of sight, eyes wide and his lips parted. His teal coat suddenly felt very conspicuous. 

A few times, Kurt had very briefly wondered what happened to Sebastian after he threw that slushie at Blaine the previous year. Sebastian stopped attending Dalton soon after the incident and Kurt had never asked anyone why, or where he’d transferred. Sebastian was an utter bastard and as long as he was far away from Blaine – preferably countries, if not continents apart - Kurt didn’t care if Sebastian was living in Antarctica. Blaine had never bought him up.

Nine months later and Sebastian was standing ten feet away from Kurt in New York. Kurt quickly made a decision to say hello – because it was an opportunity to throw it in Sebastian’s smug meerkat face that, yes, Kurt was still with Blaine and, yes, he lived in New York now. It was possibly a petulant desire on Kurt’s part, but he felt that he deserved a few moments of immaturity now and then. 

“Sebastian Smythe, is that really you?” said Kurt in a cheery, falsely shocked voice as he walked out from behind the display. He instantly noticed the tension that jumped through Sebastian’s frame and when the other boy turned towards Kurt’s voice, his green eyes clearly betrayed his shock. 

Kurt took Sebastian in quickly, his critical eye never dormant - lose jeans and faded grey hoodie, hair sitting heavy over his eyes, mouth closed tightly. His clothes weren’t fashionable or even well fitting. He looked tired, thin, but still as undeniably striking as ever.

“Hummel,” said Sebastian, tucking his change for the painkillers into his back pocket. “Can I help you with something?”

Kurt’s kept staring at him, slightly taken aback by Sebastian’s terse reply. They’re not friends or even neutral acquaintances, but he had somehow expected more. Kurt had at least thought Sebastian would sound like he cared. In the past, there had never been a lack of emotion between them.

Closer inspection from Kurt revelled that Sebastian does not look well. He was so far removed from his clean, pressed Dalton uniform and if it weren’t for his voice, Kurt would probably never have recognised him. Kurt tried not to let Sebastian see his unease.

“You know, just scoping out the local area. I just moved here, actually, I’m at NYADA. Nice to see a familiar face.”

Kurt filled with word _nice_ with as much sarcasm as he could. The slight narrowing of Sebastian’s eyes showed he had picked it up and Kurt braced himself for a scathing reply.

“Yeah, _nice_. Good to see you’re living every little girl’s dream. Just got to find some rich old man to make an honest woman out of you.”

In the past, such comments had made Kurt fill up with indignant rage. Now, it was hard to take Sebastian seriously.

“Ouch,” replied Kurt, with a little smirk. “Anyway, I’ll tell Blaine you said hi. I’m sure he won’t care, but I’m the sentimental type.”

The attendant behind the counter was watching them with an awkward expression. The tension humming between them was obvious and it was making her uncomfortable. Kurt had no desire to make more of a scene and he was confident he had sufficiently rubbed Sebastian’s face in his success, so he gave Sebastian his best condescending smile 

“So good to see you, Sebastian. Take care.”

Sebastian just watched silently, one hand tightly clasped around his purchase, as Kurt turned and walked towards the door. Kurt felt a rush of success, a sense of atonement for all those times he let Sebastian get to him. The sensation of finally winning was intoxicating. 

The door opened in front of Kurt as he reached it, and a small muscled man entered the store. Kurt automatically moved to the side to let him pass and the man strode purposefully into the shop. Kurt was in the doorway, one step away from being swept back into the bustling New York street, when he heard a gasp of pain. Unthinkingly, he glanced back to see the man gripping Sebastian’s forearm tightly, glaring at him menacingly enough that Kurt had to suppress a wince from ten feet away. Kurt was instantly immobile, an automatic warning in his head telling him to leave, but he was held in place by the fear he saw covering Sebastian’s face.

Sebastian looked scared, with his shoulder’s bunched and breath held. He didn’t try to pull away; he let the man squeeze his arm until Kurt imagined the bones grinding together.

“Hurry up, you little shit,” the man said lowly and he wrenched Sebastian towards the door. 

They moved past Kurt, who had stepped back into the shop. Sebastian was staring determinedly at the ground, his lips pressed thin with anxiety and hands stuffed into the pockets on his jumper. Kurt looked away when the angry man went past, his heart thumping in his chest. There was fear racing through him. When the door swung closed behind them, Kurt sagged slightly.

_Okay_ , he thought to himself, heart still beating hard. _Okay_. _That was intense_.

The whole event took place over only ten seconds, but it left Kurt feeling shaky. That man had simple reeked of rage and violence. Kurt may have only been in New York for three months, but he was smart enough to know the type of people to stay far away from. And clearly that man knew Sebastian, knew him well enough to… what? Shove him and swear at him? Scare Sebastian enough that he didn’t talk back? 

Kurt thought it over as he walked the short distance back to his dorm. It was like everything else he had been planning to do today was dimmed by the look on Sebastian’s face when the man was holding his arm. It wasn’t an expression Kurt had ever desired to see or wanted to see again. As he walked, Kurt tried to remember anything else he had noticed about Sebastian. 

He looked wiped out. Pale and tired. His clothes were old, certainly not something Kurt would expect ever to be worn by an ex-Dalton Academy student. And – this only occurred to Kurt as he was putting his key into the door of his dorm room – Sebastian was Blaine’s age. He was still in school, or at least he should be. He might be going to a school in New York, but that didn’t feel right. The whole thing just didn’t feel right.

Without really thinking about it, Kurt sat down on his bed and called Blaine.

“Hi gorgeous,” said Blaine when he picked up and Kurt could practically see the big grin on his face. Blaine sounded so cheerful.

Kurt wasn’t sure what to say to him. _Hi baby, you remember Sebastian, right? You know, that guy that turned your best friends against you and then put you in hospital. I know we both kinda hate him, but I ran into him today. He looked like shit. I think he’s in trouble and I don’t know what to do. I think I should probably try and help him, but I’m not sure how. I don’t even know where he is. Plus, he’s still a total dick. But anyway, how was your day?_

The words wouldn’t come. Instead, Kurt ran a hand over his face and tried to match Blaine’s chipper tone.

‘Hey yourself. Have you seen the new episode of White Collar yet?’

Even as Blaine replied, Kurt was releasing that this is something he was going to have to do alone. Except, he wasn’t sure what he could do or where to start.


End file.
